The Girl on the Beach
by Jazzola
Summary: What was meant to be a relaxing beach holiday turns into a murder investigation. Could a brutally murdered girl be reaching out to Mystery Inc. from beyond the grave? F/D only mildly , rated T due to murder scene.
1. Chapter 1

The Mystery Machine rumbled down a slightly bumpy, faded tarmac road, the tyres skidding slightly on the loose gravel on the road. The windows were open as the heat in the van was getting too much.

Velma was glancing at the map as the van rolled up to a fork.

"We should be following signs to New Elounda Bay."

Fred squinted at a road sign on the scrap of land between the two roads. He had been driving since Ohio, and New Elounda Bay was a good ten hour's drive away. He was also driving in almost complete dark.

Velma glanced at the map again, hoping to decipher some of the wording in the very dim light of a handily-placed but broken street lamp.

"Uh… The right fork goes to the bay, I think…"

She was cut off by a loud snore from the back. Daphne glanced back and rolled her eyes.

"You'd think with the amount of food they eat, they should be hyper! They ate most of what we packed before we were even on the freeway…"

Scooby rolled over in his sleep and started murmuring.

"Rooby Rax, Rooby Rax…"

Velma grinned. "Whoever heard of a dog talking in his sleep?"

Fred turned the wheel and the van swung onto the right road. Velma looked again at the map. She felt relieved as the saw the printed instructions under the map come into light under a brighter street lamp- "at first fork, go right".

"Yeah, we're going the right way."

"For once," Daphne added under her breath next to her. Velma nudged her and they both giggled.

"Good," Fred said, stifling a yawn. "I really need some sleep."

Daphne rolled her eyes at him. "If you're that tired, I can always drive for a while."

Fred didn't reply, but pressed his foot onto the accelerator pedal so that Daphne and Velma were pushed back into their seats.

Velma leaned over to whisper to Daphne.

"I think that means no!"


	2. Chapter 2

The signs to New Elounda Bay Hotel suddenly started cropping up, pointing to the silhouette of a large building pretty much next to the bay. The Mystery Machine followed each one obediently, eventually pulling up outside the hotel itself.

The gang piled out of the van and just took in the building.

It was overwhelmingly huge, windows stretching on for what seemed like miles into the star-encrusted sky. The building itself was gorgeous, with light-coloured panels covered in sea-themed mosaics and in gorgeous sea colours, light turquoise and a gold sand colour blending together beautifully. The entrance to the main foyer was marked with eight turquoise marble pillars, gleaming in the light from the hotel and polished to perfection. On the right hand side of the pillars was a huge ornamental fountain, with three marble dolphins curving round each other, frolicking in the waves of stone, their glassy eyes fixed on the sky and their long mouths open to allow a flow of clear water from down their gullets. On the left hand side of the huge turquoise pillars there was a sign made of what looked like glass, with "NEW ELOUNDA BAY HOTEL" engraved clearly against the transparent slab.

Fred opened the back doors of the van and pulled his luggage out. He tried one of Daphne's suitcases, then turned to her and raised his eyebrows as if to say, _What did you bring, your whole house?_

"Sorry, Freddy, I think I may have over-packed a little…"

Behind her, Velma and Shaggy were trying to muffle their laughter.

"Like, a _little_?"

Daphne sighed and rolled her eyes at them, then joined in the laughter herself. She could never stay grouchy with the rest of the gang for long!

From inside, Velma thought as they stepped in, this place could be the entrance to a palace or something, save for the reception desk and the mosaic next to it saying "Main Reception". It looked much too grand and gorgeous to be a hotel foyer.

"'Ello, 'ow can I 'elp?"

A young woman who looked about twenty or so walked over and smiled at the group. Her name badge said "Marina".

"Erm, hi, we wanted to check in?"

"Of course. Come zis way, pleeze." The woman motioned for them to follow her to the reception desk. Shaggy leaned over and whispered to Velma.

"Like, what kind of kooky accent is that?"

Velma giggled. "She's French, it's a French accent, Shaggy!"

"Oh, like, right…"

Marina didn't appear to have overheard the exchange between the two; she smiled brightly at the group.

"Ze boys are een room 103, and ze girls are een room 105, so- 'ow you say?- next door. I 'ope ze arrangements are een order wiz you?"

"Yes."

"Eet eez just up ze stairs, did you want 'elp wiz your bags?"

She indicated the pile of luggage. They decided they could cope and went up to the rooms after Marina pulled a pair of turquoise keys from behind the desk and handed them over.

"'Ave a good night's sleep!" she called brightly after the gang as they disappeared up the smartly polished stairs.

Fred and Daphne opened their respective doors and the others followed them in. The rooms were pretty much identical, except in the girls' room there was a little china doll with a swimming costume on.

"Oh, isn't she sweet?" Daphne sighed, stroking the doll's red curls, which tumbled past the bottom of the swimming costume. Velma couldn't help noticing how similar the doll looked to Daphne. She giggled and pulled her sponge bag out of a suitcase.

"Oh, are you going for a wash? I need to send a message to my folks; I said I would when we arrived…"

Velma nodded and headed for the shower as Daphne pulled her cell phone out of her bag.

Next door, an argument was starting over who got to have the first bath.

"Like, humans first, Scoob! Like, you leave dog hairs all over the bath, man!"

"Ruh-uh! Rogs rirst! Ri rake ress rime!"

"Less time? _Less _time? Like, you take years to have a shower, man!"

"Rokay! Reddy, ro roes rin rirst?"

Both sides of the argument looked to Fred, who was quietly laughing, sitting on the single bed in the corner.

"Uh… You do take a while, Scoob, no offence!"

Scooby sighed, and resigned himself to the fact that there would be human hairs all over the bath tub when he got to have his shower.

"Rand ruman rairs rar ronger!" he muttered as he climbed into the double bed he and Shaggy were sharing. Fred reached down into his bag and pulled out a book.

"Don't sulk, Scooby- guess who gets the hot water…"

There was a yelp of "OOHTHATSCOLDMAN!" from the bathroom just as Fred said it.

"Ruh-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!"

There was another, annoyed-sounding yell from the bathroom.

"Like, Freddy, you knew that was going to happen, didn't you, man?"

Fred burst out laughing even though his cover was blown.

"No point getting uptight, Shag! Besides, you either get cold water or you get dog hairs all over the bath tub- which one would you prefer?"

Shaggy groaned and started emptying the bath out.

"Like, outmanoeuvred by a dog and a football jock! Like, I was under the impression that I wasn't _that_ lacking when it came to smart, man! Hey, like, Freddy, I'm going to have to get you back tomorrow, man."

Fred laughed again.

"I'll be on my guard, Shaggy… Thanks for the warning!"


	3. Chapter 3

Next door, the girls were muffling laughter; they could hear every word the boys were saying through the thin walls.

"Shaggy sounded pretty shocked…" Velma managed to giggle before they were both unable to speak again. Daphne could hardly stand for laughter at the thought of Shaggy being doused in ice-cold water next door. Maybe in itself the situation wasn't that funny, but overhearing the conversation was more than enough to tickle the funny bone.

Eventually, the laughter died down and Daphne reached over to turn the light off.

"Hang on…"

Velma slid out of her bed and tapped on the wall, a little grin on her face.

"Freddy? Freddy, you there? Respond, Freddy…"

It was a couple of seconds before Fred's voice filtered through.

"Velms, what is it?"

"You didn't tell him about having to run the shower for a minute before the hot water kicks in, did you?"

Fred laughed.

"Nah. Why? It's much better to just sit back and watch the fun… We are on vacation!"

Daphne tapped the wall as well, a smile on her face.

"Meanie."

"I heard you laughing as well."

Daphne sighed, but the smile on her face gave her away.

"Fine… C'mon, guys, let's get some sleep. We've got a busy day tomorrow… Sun, sea, sand, tanning…"

"For those who can't see me, I rolled my eyes," Fred said from the other side of the wall. Velma laughed.

"She's got a point. See you in the morning."

As the group exchanged "goodnight"s, Daphne rested her hand for a second over where Fred would be on the other side of the wall and stroked the plaster slightly, her expression fond.

Climbing into bed, Velma had the feeling that Fred might have done the same thing.


	4. Chapter 4

"Come… Come to me…"

Fred half-opened his eyes and looked blearily at the alarm clock. 3:05… Who was yelling at this hour? But it didn't sound like yelling, it almost sounded like a whisper, a soft noise.

"Come to the window… See me…"

His first instinct was to wake Shaggy and Scooby, but it was somehow overridden by something else. He had no idea what.

He slid out of bed and walked over to the huge window overlooking New Elounda Bay. His first thought was, _Wow, that's beautiful!_

The bay shimmered and glowed in the gentle moonlight, illuminated like a Nativity scene. The golden sand lay in soft waves which were thrown into elegant relief by the moonlight, and the waves moved lazily up the vivid turquoise water before dissolving into a cloud of foamy white on the beach.

It was deserted save for one person, who stood next to a sand dune.

Fred's jaw dropped. She looked like an angel.

He saw her more in his mind's eye than in his real eyes. The woman was wearing a floaty sky-blue sundress, made of some kind of thin material that scintillated in the soft glow of the moon. Her thick chestnut hair fluttered out behind her in a light breeze, and her eyes were placid yet piercing at the same time, a beautiful blue flecked with grey, like a storm on the sea yet genial. Her skin was slightly tanned, with a porcelain-like quality, flawless and tranquil.

Her rosebud-like mouth opened, showing small, even white teeth.

"Come… Come to me…"

Without thinking Fred moved away from the window and over to his bed. His shoes were lying on their sides next to the bed. He shoved his feet into them, at the same time pulling a jacket over his pyjama t-shirt. Then he crept out of the room, so as not to disturb Shaggy or Scooby.

As the door creaked closed, Shaggy stirred a little in his sleep.

Fred took the stairs three or four at the time, and was rewarded with a plunge onto the polished floor. Ignoring the pain in his crushed arm and head, he ran out of the door, alarming a young couple standing just the other side of it. They didn't see him, just a silhouette moving towards the beach path.

Fred had never been down the path before, but somehow his feet were guided by something deep in his psyche. He ran down it, through sand dunes and past benches, a couple of which were occupied by couples like the couple outside the hotel. Fred didn't pause, just carried on towards the beach and the woman.

She was standing about a hundred feet from where the path ended and the beach began. He stumbled towards her, the stitch now growing in his side threatening to bend him over completely. His arm was aching from the fall at the hotel, and his head felt fit to burst, but as he stared at the woman the pain fell away, replaced by awe.

"What is your name?"

A soft English accent, very feminine and kind. Her rosebud lips barely moved, but he heard every syllable clearly in his head.

"Fred."

"Fred. I must show you something, Fred, before it is too late…"

She turned and started gliding up the beach. Even though he was still hopelessly out of breath, Fred followed at a sprint.

His legs were protesting at every thud onto the soft sand, but he forced them, or something forced them, to keep going.

But they were giving up…

He stumbled and fell into the cushiony sand, gasping for breath. Something happened, like a blanket of sound being taken off the scene, allowing background noise through. It felt similar to getting the ability to hear back after being temporarily deaf.

He looked up, brushing sand out of his hair and face.

She was gone.

The wind seemed to be whispering in his ear, but it assumed the voice of the girl.

"My name is Lily Roper…"

With a lead weight settling on his shoulders and heart, though he didn't know why, Fred stood up and brushed himself down, then walked back towards the path and the hotel.


	5. Chapter 5

"YOW!"

Shaggy woke up abruptly in the hotel room, his teeth clamped tightly around his finger. In his dream, it had been a chipolata sausage…

Sucking his bruised finger, Shaggy glanced over to see if he'd woken Scooby up. No, Scooby was still snoring next to him.

He glanced over to see if he'd woken Fred up.

Fred wasn't there.

A cold chill ran through Shaggy. He sat up quickly, looking round the room. As he looked back at the bed, he noticed that Fred's shoes were gone, and the door was slightly ajar, whereas it'd been closed before they went to sleep. Fred's jacket had been hanging over the back of a chair next to the bed. It was gone too.

Shaggy leaned over and woke Scooby up.

"Rot ris rit, Raggy? Rere's Reddy?"

"Like, I was hoping you'd know, Scoob… See if you can pick up his scent."

Scooby put his nose down onto the floor and sniffed. It was no use; the thick carpet didn't keep the scent very well.

"Rothing."

"Like, maybe he went next door? But, like, if he did, why'd he take his jacket?"

The two opened the door properly and walked to the next room. Shaggy knocked lightly on the door, but there was no response. He tried the handle. It was open.

He swung the door open and walked in.

A/N: Sorry, this is a short one! I originally wrote most of my stories to publish on my own website, but I never got round to it, so some of the chapters are short (they would have been all on one page instead of being chapters). Keep reading, it gets better (I'm told). Jazzola


	6. Chapter 6

Velma was lying on a towel on the soft sand of the beach, in New Elounda Bay. The sea sparkled and shimmered as far as the eye could see- or at least, as far as Velma's glasses allowed her to see. Fred and Daphne were hitting a beach ball backwards and forwards, laughing when the other missed it or fell onto their face in the cushiony sand. Shaggy and Scooby were over at a food stand, clearing out the large cool box behind the brightly painted stand.

There was only a light breeze, but suddenly the wind started getting up, blowing Daphne's hair back and shaking Velma violently. It felt as though there were two hands on her shoulders, pulling and pushing, trying to get her attention though she knew there were only sand dunes behind her…

"VELMA!"

Velma opened her eyes. Shaggy was standing over her, his hands on her shoulders, Scooby at his side.

"Like, is Freddy here?"

She shook her head, confused.

"No, why would he be?"

"Like, he's not in our room. Like, his shoes and jacket are gone too!"

Velma pushed back the covers, pulling her nightie down a little in the process. Her own shoes were next to the door. She walked over and slipped them on, as Daphne yawned and slid her legs off the bed.

The gang-minus-one trooped through to room 103. Velma walked over and touched the mattress of the single bed, clearly marked out as Fred's by the ascot draped over a knob on the headboard. Scooby flicked the end of the ascot, grinning.

"Stone cold," Velma muttered, looking down at the floor next to the bed. Something brown was on the floor. She stooped and picked it up, opening it. It was Fred's wallet, she realised as she saw the driving licence inside.

"His wallet… He must have been in a hurry, wherever he went."

The door creaked open behind them suddenly and Fred poked his head round, liberally sprinkled in sand. He looked surprised to see the whole gang around his bed and Velma holding his wallet open. Velma realised what she must look like and dropped the wallet onto the bed, blushing.

"It was on the floor…"

Fred shook his head and walked into the room, his own cheeks red. Velma couldn't tell if he was embarrassed or flushed from running, or a mix of the two. She fixed him with a curious look.

"Where were you? It's three in the morning!"

Fred suddenly realised that thing he was meant to do whilst going back to the hotel: make up a story in case anyone had discovered him missing.

"I… uh…"

They were all looking at him expectantly.

"I… went to get my cell phone out of the Mystery Machine; I remembered I'd told my brother I'd send him a message as soon as we arrived."

Everyone looked sceptical.

"He's got a baby, guys; he's always awake this early. He gets up at two anyway, his work."

He couldn't help shifting a bit as he said it. Only the baby bit was true.

The others decided pressing the matter wasn't going to help, plus it was too early for a big talk. They filed away to bed.

It was only as Velma got back into bed she remembered something; Fred had taken his cell phone out of the Mystery Machine along with the sat nav in case anyone tried to steal them.

She sighed. She would find out the truth soon. Fred wasn't the type to keep stuff from them, especially if it was so important that he was up at three in the morning on the first day of vacation to do it.

Maybe he thought he'd left his cell phone in the Mystery Machine…

Velma sighed and tried to think of other things. She knew she'd never get to sleep if she didn't.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning and four members of Mystery Inc. walked downstairs feeling refreshed. Fred was still asleep, and they'd decided against waking him.

Daphne was full of thoughts on Fred's excursion over breakfast, for some strange reason (or not). Velma talked about it because it was better than watching Shaggy and Scooby eating the hotel's canteen empty.

"Maybe he heard the van alarm go off. Why would he hide that from us?"

"Did he come down here or go out to the van, or what?"

"What would he be doing that he would be keen to try and hide from us?"

Velma smiled as she listened to Daphne making up about a million scenarios. She knew Daphne was trying to convince herself that Fred was still hers.

Eventually Fred himself arrived, with dark shadows under his eyes and yawning. Velma noticed a large bruise under his fringe that hadn't been there yesterday on the drive from Ohio.

"What happened to your forehead, Freddy?"

He shrugged as if to say, _It's nothing,_ then sat down in the empty chair next to Daphne. Daphne leaned over and pushed his hair up, looking at the bruise.

"Ow! It's nothing, Daph, really."

Daphne sighed and let him go. He was looking down at his plate, which had half a bagel on it, but he wasn't eating the bagel and didn't appear to notice when Scooby leaned over and stole it.

"Scooby!" Velma chided, but Fred didn't look up. Shaggy leaned over and clicked his fingers under Fred's eyes, but Fred didn't move.

"Like, Earth calling to Planet Freddy…"

Fred jumped and looked over at Shaggy.

"Hey, what was that for?"

Shaggy laughed.

"Like, you were in some kind of trance, man!"

Velma broke the banter up.

"OK, if we've had breakfast, why don't we go down to the beach? It's what we came here for, a vacation!"

A/N: Another shorty, I know. Sorry! Just keep reading. Jazzola


	8. Chapter 8

_It's just like in my dream, _Velma thought, lying on her beach towel in the heat of the sun.

In front of her, Daphne and Fred were hitting a large beach ball from a shop on the beach back and forth. The light wind kept blowing it off course, and Velma giggled as Fred lunged for it and fell face-first into the sand. The ball bounced away to a group of English girls in bikinis, who caught it and threw it back at Daphne as Fred sat up and rubbed sand out of his eyes. Daphne called thanks, and then ran back to Fred as one of the girls started eyeing him up. Velma laughed at Daphne's face- she had to admit, the two of them were a strange pair!

Velma pulled a book out of the beach bag next to her, but put it down after five minutes. The sun was so soothing, and she started feeling sleepy… so sleepy…

"What is your name?"

Velma started. She was suddenly standing on this same beach in the caressing moonlight. The beach was deserted, save for her and another girl.

She gasped as the girl turned and faced her.

A scintillating blue sundress, floating in a light wind… Thick, fluttering chestnut hair… Blue eyes flecked with grey, placid and piercing at the same time… Slightly tanned, porcelain-like skin, flawless and tranquil…

Velma felt a strange sense of déjà vu looking at the girl, as though she had seen her before in the dream of a dream.

Or as someone else…

"V-Velma."

"Velma. I have something I must ask you to do…

"Come back here at three in the morning tomorrow. I will show you something, but while I have the chance, I will explain something that you have been puzzling over… Your friend's absence last night.

"I called him from his bed, at around five past three. I asked him to come to me, on this beach, which he did. I believe he fell on the stairs, causing those bruises you noted. I tried to show him something, the thing I must show someone, but I could not. I ran out of time and had no choice but to leave him alone on the beach.

"I ask that you come here for three in the morning, to ensure that the same thing does not happen twice. I am bound by strict rules, but I can show you what I must show someone within those rules…

"Just come at the appointed time, and make sure you are there. Oh, and while I'm here…"

She smiled at Velma, a beautiful smile not just so because of her radiant beauty.

"The beach is ten times better in the moonlight."

Suddenly Velma jolted awake, looking up into a slightly cloudy but overall blue sky. Daphne walked over, shaking sand and water out of her hair.

"You've been asleep for ages! Have a nice time? We're going back to the hotel, Freddy's beat, even though he's saying he's not, and I want to take another look at his bruises. I wonder how he got them?"

Velma was about to say, but caught herself just in time.

"Maybe he was working on the Mystery Machine; you know how he tends to get some kind of injury when he's fixing it."

Daphne laughed.

"Oh yes… Well, are you coming? Shaggy and Scooby are, they tried the all-you-can-eat offer at one of the beach stands…"

Velma glanced up and saw the figures of a lanky boy and a dog running across the sand being chased by a plump man in an apron.

"They do tend to over-eat…"

Velma hurriedly collected her things and stuffed them in the beach bag. Daphne's eyes narrowed: Velma was normally much more careful with her things.

"Uh, is something wrong, Velma?"

Velma shook her head, but as she walked back to the hotel her mind was filled with images.

The beautiful girl on the beach… Fred looking away determinedly this morning… Daphne's confusion at her scrappy packing…

Velma sighed and put the beach bag on her shoulder, walking back to the hotel with the same air of being preoccupied that Fred had had this morning.

She was abruptly pulled out of it when she walked into a sign saying "Welcome to New Elounda Bay".

"Ow!"

Daphne helped her up and picked up her glasses, which had fallen to the floor.

"You're like Freddy now! Just promise you won't go out at three in the morning as well!"

Velma laughed, but inside she thought, _Better not… That's not a promise I can keep._


	9. Chapter 9

Three in the morning and Velma was looking out of her window and ready to run down to the beach.

Earlier she had confronted Fred about it all, and he'd been honest with her. Velma smiled as she remembered. _He never could keep secrets from us all…_

They'd researched Lily Roper on the net, but found almost nothing. It seemed as though all media interest in Lily Roper had dried up several years ago, as the most recent newspaper coverage was about seven years before, or three after Lily actually disappeared. They found out that she was fifteen when she vanished, and several photos of her as well. It felt strange to both, seeing a photo of her outside their heads on a computer screen.

Marina had come in halfway through.

"And why would you be looking at Leely Roper?"

"You knew about her?"

"I knew 'er in person. She was, 'ow you say, staying 'ere. I was 'ere with my family, to, er, work on my Eenglish. I was about ten when it 'appened. She 'adn't 'ad an argument wiz 'er family or anyzing, she was taking a walk on ze beach in ze moon. 'Er leetle sister, Rosa, wanted to go wiz 'er, but she said no, she would go on 'er own. Eef only Rosa 'ad gone too… Zen again, maybe Rosa would 'ave vanished too if zat 'ad 'appened…

"Zey searched ze 'ole beach for 'er for six weeks. Zen zey said she was not on ze beach, per'aps she 'ad been kidnapped for 'er looks. But I don't believe zat. It may seem likely, but eet ees not… 'ow you say… She would not 'ave let someone take 'er. I theenk she knew martial arts, sometheeng like zat, but she was not stupid eizer, she was a very careful girl. I theenk she eez still out zere somewhere."

Velma now dwelt on Marina's words as she slipped her shoes on. But she didn't have long to think.

"Come… Come… Come, Velma…"

Velma looked out of the window. Lily stood in the bay, beckoning with one slender arm. Velma caught her breath at the sight. She was so beautiful. For a second her heart ached with envy, but she turned and ran out of the door, careful of Daphne but in a hurry.

The run to the beach wasn't too long, but the marble stairs of the hotel were slippery if you were running and she tripped and slid to the end of the stairs. She had a funny feeling of déjà vu as she did so, but not the usual déjà vu. It was somehow different, as though she had done it before but not as the same person. She shook the feeling off and ran on, ignoring the pain in her knee where she'd landed on the foyer floor. Luckily, no-one had seen and no-one was around.

She took the same path they'd used earlier to get to the beach, past several couples on benches. Somehow the déjà vu continued, as though she'd done this before. She guessed it was some kind of spiritual déjà vu (although she didn't believe in it, of course) and tried to ignore it, focusing on the figure on the beach before her.

"Hello again, Velma."

The soft British accent was more pronounced than ever as she said this, very different to anything she was used to, but it felt nice.

"Follow me. I am determined that we shall not run out of time today."

She set off along the beach, seeming to glide rather than walk, and Velma followed, still out of breath from the long run but trying desperately to keep up with Lily.

Lily stopped at a sand dune about three-quarters of the way down the beach and ran her hand across her face.

"You must dig at this sand dune, you and Fred, at three in the morning when the moon is brightest, but the day after tomorrow. You place yourselves in grave danger if you try to dig here either tonight or tomorrow night."

"Why?"

"Tonight there is a beach party that will be starting in a minute. And tomorrow a man visits this dune, for reasons that he knows. He must not see you."

Velma nodded.

"It is very important that you dig here in the moonlight. I have heard of you and your friends, and your work. You always find clues, right? Well, it requires the moon to find this clue."

Velma gazed up at this strange girl, whose eyes were blazing as they looked back at her.

"Do you understand my instructions?"

"Yes."

"I am sorry that it must be you to do this, but it is the only way. You have experience in these things… In essence, mysteries such as mine.

"I told you earlier… Come, and my mystery shall be solved."

And with that Lily vanished, so abruptly that for a moment Velma wondered whether she had been there at all.

With a lead weight on her heart and shoulders, and the odd feeling of déjà vu back, she set off back up the beach path.

She looked in on the boys, wondering if Fred had been disturbed by Lily, having seen and heard her before. But he was fast asleep, and didn't stir when she whispered his name.

Daphne didn't stir either when Velma crept into bed, but suddenly rolled onto her side and started murmuring. Velma knew it was maybe a little nosy, but tried hard to hear what she was saying.

"Freddy… come back…"

Velma smiled and turned over.

_Honestly, _she thought. _Why don't they just admit they love each other, rather than just go on in life making out that they don't?_


	10. Chapter 10

Velma felt lethargic and unmotivated the next day, knowing that something was going to happen in connection to Lily but she couldn't be a part of it, no matter how much she wanted to be. She didn't tell Fred, but knew that he could tell something was amiss; whenever he so much as glanced in her direction his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Daphne and the other boys seemed oblivious. It felt strange to both Fred and Velma, trying to act normal when feeling anything but. They tried to talk in private, but as they were on vacation there weren't as many chances as there were generally.

Velma decided, eventually, that she and Fred should go down to the beach and see what was happening tonight.

They walked down together at about five to three, Velma wearing her bikini under her jacket so that if anyone asked, they were just going for a swim. Velma had a definite and probably very accurate feeling Daphne would disapprove, so she'd made Fred swear he wouldn't breathe a word of this to the rest of the gang.

His reply was typical: "Do I really look that stupid?"

Velma searched for a while, trying to find the sand dune. But there were no obvious differences to Lily's dune; all Velma knew was that it had a large clump of beach grass on top, like several other sand dunes.

Eventually, they gave up the search, deciding that they weren't going to get anywhere, and remembering Lily's warning hid.

No sooner had they hidden themselves than a man wearing a dark jacket and jeans walked onto the beach, silhouetted in the moonlight. He walked over to a sand dune, and as he did so there were tears spilling over his face and onto the jacket.

The stranger knelt down at the foot of the dune, and started saying something. Then he pulled out a small gardener's pocket shovel and started digging at the sand. He was holding something in one hand that neither member of Mystery Inc. had been able to make out, but as he drew it into the moonlight they realised it was a single white lily, pure and beautiful, like the girl it was named after.

The man simply pushed the lily into the soil and carried on sobbing, then left.

As soon as he was gone, the wind became a familiar voice:

"Do not go now. Go tomorrow."

And the two obeyed her without question, walking back up to the hotel quietly, not talking to each other, each embedded in their own thoughts.

As Fred was about to walk into his room, Velma leaned over and whispered in his ear.

"Not a word to anybody, Freddy, this is between us. OK?"

He nodded and they parted, each still immersed in their thoughts.

"Where _are_ you disappearing to?"

Velma had the shock of her life when she walked into the bedroom. Daphne was sitting up in bed with a cross look on her face.

"It's three in the morning, Velma! First Freddy, now you… What's happening, and why don't I know about it?"

Velma sighed.

"To fully explain I'd need Freddy here, and he's not, so I can't explain."

Daphne glared at her. Velma knew she was being evasive, and it showed on her face. It only infuriated Daphne more.

"I'm going to have this out now, with the pair of you in here, and talking, and being honest about what's happening here. I need to know, don't think I've been completely oblivious to all this scheming and these little talks behind my back. I want the truth!"

Velma whistled to herself as she walked slowly next door.

"She's getting smarter…"

Fred poked his head out of the door as she approached it, startling her.

"I know, I thought we'd gotten away with it!"

"Freddy! What-"

"Velma, I think the whole hotel heard Daphne just then. Come on, we'll have this out, but I wish we had a cover story. She might not like the truth."

"I heard that, Freddy Jones!" called a voice from next door.

Freddy bit back a smile and the two walked into the girl's room.


	11. Chapter 11

"So you saw a real ghost?"

"Looks like it," Fred answered.

The five members of Mystery Inc. were perched on beds or flopped in chairs, all the listeners looking at the single bed next to the window, the one on which Fred and Velma were sitting.

Velma took the baton from Fred and carried on the talking, watching Daphne carefully as she did.

"She was somehow… familiar; I don't know how to explain it. Like I'd seen her on TV or something. But how could I have seen her that way? Ohio's about a day's drive away, and I've never been here before."

She fiddled a little with her hands, then quickly went back to her normal mindset, that it was all silly and it was all completely explainable by science.

"The feeling of déjà vu is a little hard to explain. I don't know what to think… She can't be a ghost, they don't exist, and yet I can't think of any scientific explanation for what we saw."

Fred sighed. Daphne rolled her eyes at Velma.

"Velma, Lily Roper is almost definitely dead! She couldn't have been anything but a ghost- you saw her, Freddy saw her, she was fifteen when she disappeared and you said she looked exactly the same as the pictures taken of her on her vacation. Use your heart instead of your head for a change! This is a real ghost, probably one of our first, and we need to steer away from our usual thinking and become- well, become more open to the spirit world!"

Velma couldn't help snorting with laughter. Fred looked away at the opposite wall to Daphne, trying to hide a small smile.

"What's so funny? For once, we're dealing with a real live ghost!"

"It was just what you were saying- you sounded like some kind of mad psychic!"

Daphne couldn't help but join in the laughter.

"OK, but still. I vote the whole gang goes down to the beach tonight. Why did she say three in the morning?"

"I don't know, but I think we should do as she said."

Shaggy shrugged.

"Like, I've been creepier places three in the morning!"

A/N: Short, I know… Just keep on reading! Jazzola


	12. Chapter 12

Three arrived, and Velma was trying to find the sand dune again.

"Look for a sand dune with a clump of grass on top, which eliminates about half of them, and with very disturbed sand at the base, which should give us a few clues."

The group split up, each searching a random sand dune. Velma especially felt a bit stupid, examining sand dunes, but she knew this was important.

Shaggy yelled suddenly, standing at the base of a sand dune about three quarters of the way down the beach.

"Like, this one might be it!"

Scooby barked next to him.

"Reah, reah!"

The rest of the gang ran over. Shaggy was pointing at a patch of sand that should have been smooth, but instead gave the impression that someone had dug it up and then done their best to smooth it out.

"This is the right area…" Fred mused. He pulled out a spade from the backpack with the spade in.

Velma watched carefully as Fred dug at the dune. Something caught her eye, reflecting the moonlight that bathed the beach in its glow back at her.

"Fred, stop for a second… What's that?"

Fred leaned on the spade, panting slightly, as Velma leaned down and picked up the object that had caught her eye, which she distinguished as a beautiful silver locket with a lily engraved on the top.

With trembling fingers, she opened the locket.

A little note was inside. She read it out loud:

"_To Lily, the love of my life: I am so sorry. Johann._"

The gang stared down at the note, which was written in a shaking but still elegant hand. Daphne broke the silence that descended.

"Well, at least we know it's the right sand dune…"

Fred nodded.

"That must be the name of the man we saw last night. Johann."

Shaggy looked up. "Like, there's a beach stall called Johann's Munches; me and Scoob ate there a couple of days ago…"

He had the grace to look a little embarrassed.

Velma stared down at the locket still, something growing inside her.

Suddenly she was Lily, walking along the beach, with the landscape as it might have been ten years ago. A man stopped her, he was clearly drunk and she tried to edge away from him, but he went down on one knee and asked for her hand in marriage; she gasped and screamed, but his eyes flashed red, he pulled something from his belt, it was a stonemason's hammer, and she was screaming, she shut her eyes tight as he pulled the hammer back-

"VELMA!"

Daphne and Fred were crouched next to Velma, staring at her with wide eyes, and Shaggy and Scooby looked concerned and confused.

Velma looked round, confused. She was lying on the floor in front of a sand dune, with her friends clustered round.

"I think…"

She swallowed. The gang were still watching her with something approaching wariness.

"I think I just experienced the last few moments of Lily's life."

Shaggy gaped. Scooby shook his head, looking confused. Daphne also looked confused. Fred looked a little frightened.

Velma related what she saw, shakily and a little hesitantly.

"I think this Johann was driven mad with hopeless longing, he was in love with her but she would never fall in love with him; he was definitely drunk. I think he killed her, and then buried her here and returns every year, on the anniversary of her death…"

Fred's face changed; Velma saw something dawn on it.

"No…"

"Huh?"

Fred swallowed.

"The date of her death was a full week ago."

Velma shook her head.

"She… I don't know, but I just think that this is the night that Lily died on. I can't explain it, I just know it. Lily- Lily's telling me her story."

Fred turned away and carried on digging. Velma couldn't read his expression, but she couldn't think she'd done something to upset him or anger him.

Suddenly there was a dull _thunk_ from where Fred's spade was cutting into the sand, a wood-like sound.

Velma leapt up and started scrabbling at the area as Fred took a well-deserved break, leaning on the spade. When she glanced up she saw the expression was gone from his face.

Slowly her hands uncovered metal: a small plaque reading _Lily Roper_.

"We've found Lily," Velma murmured, as Fred started digging with a vengeance around the area.

Slowly a wooden panel appeared, and a lid. Fred stood back, his face white despite the digging.

"This is out of our league. We need to get the police now; we've found Lily, but she isn't alive."

The others silently agreed, sitting on the sand in front of the grave as Fred pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.

As Velma looked out to the sea, looking at the ripples illuminated by the soft moon, she felt a strange mix of emotions: sadness that Lily was dead after all, that she had been murdered despite a strange hope she'd held to her; happiness that she had been found after all these years, and her mystery could be solved as she'd said and her killer could be brought to justice; a longing for her to be alive again, not lying as a corpse in the newly-uncovered coffin; and above all, a strange exhilaration that it was her and her friends who had done this, they had been chosen by Lily because of the work they did and loved.

When the police arrived, none of the gang looked into the coffin as they opened the lid. They didn't want to see, Fred and Velma especially.

A police van arrived to take the coffin away to a nearby police station. The police asked if the gang could also drive to the station. They needed to know what had happened, how the gang had found the coffin and the locket, and overall what clues they had to this mystery.

A silent gang piled into the Mystery Machine and headed after the van that bore the girl who used to be Lily Roper.


	13. Chapter 13

The body in the coffin was identified as Lily Roper by police and a facial technology machine that reconstructed what the face of the corpse might have looked like in life. Lily's family travelled to America, but sadly only her mother and younger sister. Her father had died three years earlier after a long battle with cancer. He never knew what happened to Lily.

Johann Samson was brought to justice by police. He admitted that after a heavy drinking session, he first proposed to Lily and then, when she refused, hit her seven times on the head with a stonemason's hammer he'd borrowed from a friend for his woodworking. Then he drove home after hiding her body between the sand dunes, and hastily built a wooden coffin for her. He buried her, but returned every year, a week after the anniversary of her death. Fred was right about that.

The police allowed Lily's family to take her body home and bury it in the place where she'd been happiest; in the village of Madley, near the city of Hereford. She had grown up in Madley. She was buried in the churchyard.

Velma struggled at first to come to terms with what had happened- not so much Lily's death and such, but the fact that for once in her life they appeared to have seen an actual ghost, her and Fred. She didn't talk much about it at first, when they went back to Blake House, where they lived, after the mystery, but Fred didn't either and the rest of the gang wanted some information of what had happened from the two.

Eventually they agreed to talk about their separate experiences. Fred simply told it like he was telling a story, in a monotonous tone and not making eye contact with anyone. Velma could tell he was shaken by the whole experience; this was out of their comfort zone, their normal league. This one wouldn't be easy to forget for him. She told hers at least looking at the others, but she couldn't quite come to terms with the fact that this was a real live ghost. Not a fake, not the usual masked man or woman, but a real ghost, a real spirit of a dead person, a person who had been brutally murdered and left in a coffin by her murderer. Velma still couldn't credit that this time, after all the fakes they had had, this one was for real.

"You have to think with your heart this time, Velma," Daphne said, putting her arms round her friend. "This one can't be solved by logic. From beyond the grave, Lily reached out to us, knowing we would be able to help. She tried Freddy first, and then when that attempt failed, she tried you. It's an honour for both of you, being the two she chose. I don't feel left out, nor do Shaggy or Scooby, but you were the two Lily chose to "talk" to, and that is a big thing."

"I- I don't know, Daph, but I just wish that none of this had happened. I wish Lily and her family had never gone on holiday in New Elounda, I wish that we hadn't either, I wish that Lily was still alive because she didn't do anything to deserve to die…"

"This is thinking with your heart, Velma! It's hard, but it beats logic sometimes. This time, it wasn't a malicious ghost, someone trying to scare us off, it was a girl about your own age trying to talk to us, specifically you two. She tried to let someone know what had happened, so that the case could be closed and her family could know after all these years what had happened to her."

Daphne's little pep talk helped a bit, and Velma found a little peace; Fred couldn't for a while, but Velma tried to relay what Daphne had said to him.

The whole gang was restless and lethargic for a few weeks after the case. What was meant to be a relaxing vacation, as always, had turned into a case, and this time the largest case they had ever solved. This one was big; this one had attracted mass media attention and solved a murder case. There was a life involved this time. The natural rhythm of emotions they were all used to was shattered for a while.

A week after solving the mystery, back in Ohio, Velma woke up at three in the morning, not knowing why but just opening her eyes. She turned over, and as she did so she saw Lily standing there, smiling, a true smile that made her eyes light up.

"Thank you, Velma."

Then she vanished, and Velma saw, in the corner of her eye, something appear on her bedside table. She turned and picked it up.

It was a little framed picture of Lily, with her family, standing in the garden of a pretty little house that Velma guessed was Lily's house. Lily was wearing a blouse that looked like silk, in a gorgeous deep purple that went beautifully with the mane of chestnut hair. Next to her was a little girl- Rosa- who appeared to share quite a lot of her beauty. Behind them were their parents, a lovely-looking woman who was clearly the source of the beauty, and a kind-looking man with exactly Lily's eyes. Velma stared at the picture for a long time, her eyes blurred with tears and a terrible sadness in her, but also happiness.

Lily was at rest.

Lily's last words to her, happy and yet somehow weighted down under emotion, echoed in her brain.

"_Thank you, Velma…_"

_Daphne's right, _Velma thought.

_Sometimes you have to think with your heart, rather than your head._

And with that Velma Dinkley fell asleep again, with a smile on her face and tear tracks glittering on her cheeks.

THE END

A/N: Phew! That one took me a long time. I hope you enjoyed reading it and please, please, I beg of you- review it! I love hearing what you guys think about my writing, it's an awesome feeling. I'll be publishing more of my long stories as well, so keep tuned… Jazzola


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